07.06Progress: Housebuying Watch, Day 32
Last week, we had the house-to-be inspected and it went surprisingly well. The ceiling fan fixtures had all been removed, of course, which is just as well because we had planned on buying fans anyway. (And let me tell you, our living room fan is going to have lights and a remote and exude awesomeness, even when it’s just sitting there. If Floridians need anything that’s so technologically advanced that it could practically cook you breakfast, it’s a ceiling fan.)
It was pretty typical.
Except when the inspector dude was testing the heat. Power had only been restored to the house fifteen or twenty minutes before so the AC hadn’t yet fully cooled the place down; you can imagine how utterly stifling it was during a hot summer Florida afternoon where the temperature was rapidly approaching 100 degrees in a house that had been locked up for a couple of months. He had to test the heat twice! (Emergency heater switch and the actual heater. Or something like that. I couldn’t really hear him above all the hot that was going on.) We were trying to fill out the inspection paperwork except neither of us could see it because of the sweat pouring into our eyes.
That was about when we decided we needed to step outside to measure the narrow strip of concrete that constitutes the back porch. You know. For planning purposes.
Otherwise, the inspection went well and everything was deemed okay. We learned a few things about the house and construction in general, as well as took measurements of various rooms and got a little bit further in our planning. (Because seriously, decorating the place has been the only fun part of this whole “buying a house” thing.)
Next step: paint samples.
Oh, and actually getting a mortgage loan. Our paperwork is filled out so it’s just a matter of our loan officer getting things going now that we’ve okayed the inspection. But still. I’m not buying a single drop of paint until it’s finalized because dude, what would I do with gallons and gallons of “Orange Burst” and “Moon Mist” paint otherwise?
(Those are not final paint colors, by the way.)
A word about paint samples: if you can, find a paint store that will sell you a small can (like 8oz or so) of a colour first. Paint looks different on the chips than on the wall, and a larger sample of a colour will help avoid unpleasant surprises as you cover an entire wall with "urine yellow" (or something like that).
July 6th, 2009 at 11:29 pm
Closing on Thursday, forgot to transfer money from my Cap One savings account to my checking 'til today. Here's to home ownership!!!
Look forward to seeing your new place!!
July 7th, 2009 at 1:42 am